The embodiments disclosed within this specification relate to optimizing the layout of electronic documents.
Users sometimes desire to customize a printout of an electronic document to minimize the amount of paper or ink/toner used to print the document. For example, some printers allow a user to use duplex printing, in which both sides of the paper are used to print a document. Some printers also allow a user to print multiple pages on one or both sides of each sheet of paper. Both the use of duplex printing and printing multiple pages per side save on the amount of paper used to print a document. Printing multiple pages per side also saves on the amount of ink or toner used to print the document.
The printing configuration typically is user-selectable via printing preferences provided by a device driver. A device driver is a computer program that allows higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device, such as a printer. Typically, printer manufacturers provide specific device drivers for their printers, and these device drivers are installed on the user's computer. The user can access the printing preferences via the computer's user interface.